The North Carolina State Excessive Alcohol Advisory Committee (NC SEAAC) has identified priority areas related to actions that impact access to alcohol (i.e., focusing on place, product, promotion, and price); reduction of harms (i.e., focusing on short- and long-term harms of alcohol); key populations (i.e., youth, pregnant persons, veterans, BIPOC, etc.); and access to care (i.e., increasing screening and brief interventions). All areas center equity, while highlighting disparities. 

• Consider local ordinances related to the sale and consumption of alcohol at local events, including adoption, implementation, and regulation of alcohol social districts

April 27, 2023, North Carolina State Excessive Alcohol Advisory Committee (NC SEAAC) Meeting

• Discussed local alcohol education and engagement efforts across North Carolina.
• Discussed the impactful work partners from the North Carolina Alcohol Policy Alliance, Poe Center for Health Education, Community Impact North Carolina, Orange Partnership for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth, Coastal Horizons Center, Inc., and Western Youth Network, Inc. do every day in their communities.
• Shared the following resources during the meeting:
  • The Societal Cost of Excessive Drinking in North Carolina, 2017 was a study conducted to estimate the cost of excessive drinking in North Carolina. In 2017, excessive drinking cost North Carolina $9.72 billion dollars, which is approximately $2.09 per standard drink.
  • NC GS 18-B Rule 15C.0201 provides legislative guidelines on malt beverage products.
  • Community Impact North Carolina has created a map that tracks social districts across the state. The map and more information can be found here.
  • GS 105-113.80 provides legislative guidelines on excise taxes on malt beverages, wine, and liquor.
  • Talk it Out encourages the entire community to work together to reduce underage drinking and all the harm it causes. For more information and resources, please visit their website here.
• The next NC SEAAC meeting is on October 26, 2023, from 1:00 to 2:30 pm.

January 26, 2023, North Carolina State Excessive Alcohol Advisory Committee (NC SEAAC) Meeting

• Discussed the public health considerations for the adoption and implementation of alcohol districts. An interactive map of alcohol districts can be found here. The map allows the user to click on a pin to find out more information regarding an alcohol district in a given municipality. In addition, partners highlighted several needs when discussing alcohol districts, such as talking points for various audiences and evidence-based research around alcohol districts.
• Included two reports of interest that discuss the impact of alcohol on communities in North Carolina.
  • The UNC-CH Color of Drinking Project conducted a survey of undergraduate UNC students to gather their experience with UNC’s drinking culture. The study aimed to explain the secondhand harms of alcohol, with particular attention paid to harms on students of color and LGBTQ+ students.
  • The Burden of Excessive Drinking in Orange County, North Carolina report aimed to explore the harms and costs attributable to excessive drinking in Orange County, North Carolina in 2017.  
• Next steps: To build upon state capacity to provide excessive alcohol use data, resources, and technical assistance, committee members were asked to complete the anonymous alcohol epidemiology working partner survey.
• The next NC SEAAC meeting is on April 27, 2023 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm.

December 16, 2022, NC SEAAC Steering Committee Meeting

• Discussed potential actions that would impact access to alcohol. 
• Discussed a main priority area, the regulation of social districts. Partners identified a need for resources on the impacts of social districts and guidance for implementation of districts with public health and safety best practice in mind.  
• Next steps: Group members will reach out to additional partners (i.e. law enforcement, other partners that have experience with social districts) to gain more insight into guidance that can be provided. Our next full NC SEAAC meeting, scheduled for January 26th, will also focus on social districts with a presentation from co-chair Jennifer Matthews.  

November 17, 2022, NC SEAAC Steering Committee Meeting

• Launched the NC SEAAC Steering Committee. 
• Reviewed the purpose and goals of the committee.  
• Discussed time commitment of committee. The group decided to meet monthly to produce an action plan to address statewide excessive alcohol use. The group will use meetings as a working meeting to identify actions in each identified priority area. 
• Discussed potential priority areas that the group would like to discuss further. The main areas identified were actions that impact access to alcohol (i.e., focusing on place, product, promotion, and price); reduction of harms (i.e., focusing on short- and long-term harms of alcohol); key populations (i.e., youth, pregnant persons, veterans, BIPOC, etc.); and access to care (i.e., increasing screening and brief interventions). All areas will center equity, while highlighting disparities.  
• Next steps: Group members will identify actions that address the access to alcohol focus area. 

October 27, 2022, NC State Excessive Alcohol Advisory Committee (NC SEEAC) Meeting

• Launched the NC State Excessive Alcohol Advisory Committee. Provided an overview of the NC State Health Improvement Plan (NC SHIP) and Healthy North Carolina 2030 (HNC 2030), including the proposed list of NC SHIP policy initiatives. 
• Reviewed the history, goals, and committee structure. Reviewed purpose and goals of committee: 
  • Network and collaborate with partners across the state 
  • Discuss excessive alcohol use topics of interest 
  • Develop a statewide plan for excessive alcohol use and its related harms 
• Connected with partners to gain insight into the work being done across the state. 
  • Reviewed related statewide action plans, including the NC Early Childhood Action Plan and NC Opioid and Substance Use Action Plan, and brainstormed focus areas that should be included in the excessive alcohol action plan. 
• Identified topic areas of interest for future meetings.  
• The next NC State Excessive Alcohol Use Advisory Group Meetings: 
  • NC State Excessive Alcohol Steering Committee: November 17, 2022 
  • NC State Excessive Alcohol Advisory Committee: January 26, 2023 
  • NC State Excessive Alcohol Advisory Committee: April 27, 2023 

August 23, 2022, 2:00 to 3:00 pm, Co-Lead Planning Meeting

Co-Leads: Fisher Charlton, Mina Cook, Mary Beth Cox, and Jennifer Matthews

Discussion:

• Identified list of potential work group members to invite to first work group meeting on October 27, 2022.
• Scheduled a follow-up meeting with smaller steering committee for November 17, 2022.
• Planned to develop an action plan and focus on developing resources for locals around social districts (in reference to the policy initiative, “Consider local ordinances related to the sale and consumption of alcohol at local events”).